Birthday video and random rants lol

So to start off I have a video of my older kids telling my mom Happy Birthday! It is really cute and I hope you enjoy it. I posted it on Facebook too and Kakao messaged it to my mom on her birthday! :)
Side note: If you don't know what Kakao Talk is it is an app that allows you to text anyone else that has Kakao Talk. It is for free but uses data so if you us a lot of data or talk a lot on it it may end up costing you. If you send a lot of pictures and videos, texts don't use much data.

Anyways, I didn't do too much this week. I might be getting sick. :( It was very busy with a lot of late nights. The end of the month is always the busiest because as teachers we have grading, phone teaching, test and evaluations to write.  It can be stressful. Other then that I went out on Friday night to have Brazilian BBQ with the other teachers.  Matt and Kevin are leaving next Sunday.  That means we have a week left with them. I am really sad to see them go and I am sure we will be crying on Friday. Kevin was finally able to tell Davinci that he is leaving, but I don't think they will understand until next Monday when there is no more Kevin Teacher. I am worried who is going to replace him, because I will be split between 2 classes and won't be able to be with them all the time.  Also 2 weeks after Kevin and Matt leave, Andy and Philip are leaving.  Meaning within a month we are losing 4 teachers and our work load is going to be heavier until we get new teachers. I'm not looking forward to that since we are already short staffed and losing 4 teachers and possibly only getting 2 will make it that much harder. With Philip leaving that will make me the main teacher of Edison too (my older class). This means I will have twice the amount of work to do especially with workshop coming up in October. I'm not looking forward to it.  Oh and this is only Kindy not to mention all the classes we will have to cover in Elementary. To be honest I am really sad to see them go. Being with these people the last 8 months they have become like family to me. We hang out together, we vent together, we protect each other and we help each other. I am the second oldest and once Andy leaves I will be the oldest. I feel like the older sister and sometimes mom. lol I especially feel like a mom when the boys bring me their pants to sew or ask me to cook, because they can't.  I love them dearly though and it is going to be hard to see them leave. 

Next weekend will be emotional for me.  Not only are two of my friends here leaving, but next weekend I should have been going to home to be in one of my best friends weddings. Sadly because my boss wouldn't allow me the time off I won't be able to see her walk down the aisle. Although she is very understanding and is okay with me not being there I feel very guilty not being able to attend. She even sent me an invite here in Korea with a letter. I love her dearly and I am very excited for her and her soon-to-be husband to get married next week.  They really are perfect for each other and I want to wish them a lot of happiness. I know when I come back to the States her and I will celebrate all the I have missed, but it really does sadden me that I can't be there since I have been their since day one watching this couple grow and blossom.  lol I won't go into that though. Anyways I am lucky because my mom and sister are going in my place to support my twin.  lol (she is not my twin obviously but her and I have been best friends all through college and it is a nickname we have for each other).

Okay I will stop before I start crying.  Anyways I was looking through some of my old pictures that I took in January and February here in Korea.  I noticed how much my Edison class has grown up.  So I wanted to share how much older they look.

In late January and Early February.

Currently

My babies are growing up!!! It shocked me how much they have changed!! They are so cute. I really do love these two and it is really going to be hard to say goodbye to them.  They may not care about me like I do them but they really are like my kids.  I don't just teach them English. I teach them how to behave, to have manners. I discipline them and I have fun with them.  I do know they care about me. I was feeling down on Monday and they were really well behaved and they were doing things that they know make me laugh. Emily also came and sat in my lap and for the first time ever told me "Tara Teacher I love you." She has never done that and usually her and Aiden tell me they don't like anyone. It shocked me and to be honest a part of my wanted to cry. I do love Emily and Aiden a lot. I am with them most of the day and spending so much time with them you could understand why I love these two. I do love my Davinci kids too, but I spend far less time with them, so I am closer to Emily and Aiden. I used to hate teaching these 2 because they gave me such a hard time and were mean to me, but they also though I was going to leave like the past 6 teachers before Philip and I did. So I understood why they were they way they were with me, but once they finally trusted me I saw a whole different side to these kids. They are smart and sassy. They love to joke and play, but know when they have to work. They ask questions and they push themselves to be better at English.  It amazes me that this 5 year old and 6 year old speak fluent English and yes they may use the wrong tense or forget an artificial but they speak like any kid their age in the States. The biggest difference is they have only been learning English for 2 and a half years and only speak English when they are at school. They can read, write and speak in English and Korean. In fact their English is better than their Korean. I had to give them a Korean test last week and they struggled with it and had an easier time going from Korean to English. They speak Korean just fine, but since they don't read and write as much in Korean as they do in English they struggle with it a little more. But these two if I ask them to translate to Korean for me verbally they can do it much easier.

Oh funny story. The other day Philip and I were waiting with Aiden for his bus to come. It was very late so we are just talking with Aiden when this older lady came up to us and asked if Philip was Appa? (meaning dad). She pointed to Aiden then asked me if Philip was his dad. I told her aniyo sunsenim (no teacher).  She looked at me and started to tell me that she thought we were Aiden's parents. Even Aiden said no, but it was so funny. Then she kept talking to us in Korean. So I had to tell her in Korean that I only speak a little Korean so she just kept laughing and walked off. It was so odd to be asked if we were Aiden's parents. We laughed though because Philip and I always tease Emily and Aiden that we are their ECC parents and they always tell us no.  What made it even funnier is that once Aiden's bus came he gets on and as he is getting in the bus he tells the bus lady 5 bus is lazy! The bus lady doesn't speak much English and didn't know what it meant but both Philip and I had to tell him not to say that and it was mean.  We were totally like his parents at the moment. It was pretty funny. His bus has been late all this week so every time it is late he tells us that 5 bus is lazy, but that he won't tell them. haha Oh Aiden makes me laugh.

Okay I didn't mean to rant about Emily and Aiden or make this blog long but I did so whatever.
I am off to finish evaluations! Besos!!!

Sister visit, Trick eye, feelings and Birthday wishes!

So this week was busy even with my day off on Wednesday.  Wednesday was National Liberation Day here in Korea which is their independence day from Japan. I have had to stay late to phone teach and what not this week so it has been a little crazy.  Anyways, I have some pictures of Emily. Aiden didn't want to take any. Also one of my sorority sisters just flew out here to be an English teacher so she hung out with me for 2 nights.  Her name is Keelie and it was nice to have another PLC out in Korea to represent with me. lol We went shopping in Myeong-dong which is a huge shopping district and probably the most famous one of Korea. We also went to the Trick eye museum. It was pretty cool.  This post will be mostly pictures.

What a cutie!

I told you she is sassy! lol

Keelie got stuck!

The artist did this using a paint ball gun. Cool huh?

made with thick paper or cloth not sure.

made with wire

It had planes going through the picture.

This was just too cute!

I got a butterfly!

Mirror maze! This was crazy!

Okay well those are my pictures. Had a fun time with Keelie.  Her school is like 4 to 5 hours away from mine so I probably won't see her much. It was nice to see someone from home. For once I could say something about home and not have to explain where it is or what it looks like for someone to understand my story. It was interesting. I got asked today if I want to go home and I told them no. It may seem harsh that I don't want to go home. I do miss everyone from home and I miss many things in Colorado, but there are a lot of things that I don't miss. I realized coming to Korea I was able to have a life without all the drama back home. I was really tired of all the drama around me back home. Although I have my own drama here, it is far less than what I had back home.  So yeah I am not ready to go home. Also being away really showed me who actually cared about me and who didn't.  Their are people I feel that I will not reconnect with once I go back home and it isn't because they don't care or I don't but it is a matter that we have our own lives and they don't cross anymore.  That is okay. It will be the same with my friends here.  I am going to struggle when they leave.  Back home when I left I knew I could see these people again, but this time when I say goodbye their is a small chance I will ever see them again.  It really makes me sad. Lately I have had many mixed feelings about if I should stay longer or just go home in January.  To be honest I am not really home sick like I thought I would be. I am free here and I enjoy my freedom something I never got back home. I'm not saying my parents kept me locked up and I wasn't allowed to do anything. Not even close my parents let me do what I needed to do, but living in Korea I have had to grow up and I feel like an actual adult. I pay my bills on time (unlike most of my co-workers), I save my money, I cook, I clean my place, I do my own laundry, I go to work and I do everything for myself. It is nice to feel accomplished even if I am super tired. It does make me appreciate my parents more though.  I know they did a lot for me and I am thankful to them.

Well I am off to finish up some work before I go to bed, but since it is officially August 19th back home I want to tell my mom HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!! I hope you have a wonderful one!! I love and miss you!!!! You are an inspiration to me and are the best mom I could ever ask for!!! Love you!!!

Have a good day (or night) everyone! Besos!

Back to the same old thing.

Well I am not going to lie after the past couple of weeks being busy I am glad that I got the weekend to relax. This week not too much went on. We had parents come a visit so I had to dress up (even more than I usually do) for 3 days. It was kind of annoying because if you know me you know I hate wearing dresses and I had to wear a dress for 3 days. Anyway, on the bright side my baby class got no complaints so I am happy. I also met two of the moms and they thanked me for teaching them. It was really sweet.  My older students didn't meet yet because one is out of town and the other was busy. I guess they will meet this week.  Speaking of that it was just Emily and I this week in my older class. Poor thing I know she was bored. If this was a bigger class I could just have taught class without Aiden, but since it is just the two of them I have to wait till Aiden comes back otherwise I have to catch him up and Emily would just sit there bored.  Her and I had a lot of fun though. I made her review and we had some free talking. She impressed me by translating a song she knows in Korean to English without really batting an eye. It was cute.  That is about all I did this week.

So at the end of this month 2 foreign teachers are leaving. One is my co teacher for Davinci Kevin and the other is Matt. Matt has been at ECC for 1 year and 8 months. So I am sure he is ready to go back home and so is Kevin. I fear that Davinci is really going to miss Kevin. He will be first teacher to leave them so I am not sure how they are going to take it since they love him.  Especially Dana, she is going to be so heartbroken.  I already know it.  I just hope whoever comes in to replace him is a good teacher, because if not then that will make my job 10 times harder.  To be honest I am really sad to see these 2 go.  I know they are happy to go home, but I know they are going to miss our students.  Since I have been here for 7 months the other foreign teachers have become my family here. We spend a lot of time together, we eat often together and we hang out together.  Oh and of course we work together! But whenever something is wrong we always try to help each other or fix it.  I am going to miss these two especially Kevin, because him and I have worked so much with Davinci together. Kevin is like my rebellious younger brother who is very protective over his friends.  He may do some weird and stupid things, but he really has a good heart.  Matt is a funny guy, but very smart.  I'm going to miss all of the intellectual conversations with him. It will be my first teacher change too since I was the last to join the current group of teachers.  It really makes me sad that I won't see these two and all the teachers I have become friends with.  Now I know it isn't like I won't be able to talk to them again, but it is still sad.  Next month 2 more teachers will leave and in October 2 more will leave.  I am here to at least January if not longer.  I don't know yet and I probably won't know if I am staying longer for awhile.  None the less I am fearful of the new teachers coming in.  I hope they fit in nicely and work hard, because if they don't I am not sure they will survive ECC.  I guess I will have to wait and see. And for the next few weekends I will probably just hang out with them. At least I hope. lol Well that is all I have for now. I will talk to you all later! Besos!

Japan part 2

Okay first off lets start with the videos I was trying to upload yesterday. They are finally up so here you go.

okay so day 4 we traveled from Tokyo to Kyoto. We left early and took a bullet train to get there. We got to Kyoto in just over 2 hours. Here are some pictures from the train.

As we were on the train I got to thinking. Not just about my time in Japan but also my time here in Korea. I realized that when I finally return to the States I am really going to have a hard time going back to American culture. Reverse culture shock if you will. I will have to get used to eating American food again which I am almost 90% sure will make me sick for awhile. The life style is going to be different. I won't be able to just hope on a train or bus, but most likely I will have to drive. But this isn't what worries me. I will get used to my life back home in these realms fairly easily compared to what my actual worry it.  My biggest worry about returning home is not feeling at home at all. It is funny I grew up in American and I love America, but living in another country, an Asian country I have realized how Asian I really am. I have remembered that I have told my friends that I know what it is like to grow up Asian, but I don't know what it is like to be Asian.  I finally have gotten a taste of it and in a lot of ways I feel at home here in Asia. I know that when my mom reads this it is going to hurt her, because I know she wants me home as soon as possible.  (Don't worry mom I will come home. I won't live here forever.) Things that my friends back home didn't understand about me is something I don't have to deal with here.  A lot of it that people criticized me for back home or found weird about me was things that in Asian culture are no big deal.  Back home I dealt with it or made fun of it saying "yeah I know I'm weird," but in reality it is just something that people who aren't like me may never understand.  I really am a multiracial person and finding where I fit in, in the world has been one of the hardest things for me. Yes I can hang out with my Latino friends and be just fine, but I also had a lot of Asian friends and I am able to hang out with them too. Many of my Latino friends used to tease me about having so many Asian friends and via a verse, but the funny thing is I never tried to make friends in either groups it just happened. These thoughts made me almost cry as I sat on the train to Kyoto.  This all started because I thought about how my grandma must have felt when coming to the States. I realized how Japanese she still is even after being in the States for over 50 years.  How much of her culture she has kept and how she still lives the way she was raised no matter what others might think. I really loved being in Kyoto and in a way I felt at home. Kyoto is a beautiful city that was modern in many ways, but still had a lot of the old world charm of Japan.  My hostel was in Gion which is one of the few remaining Geisha districts.  It was normal to see people dressed in traditional clothing walking around and shopping. I could never do that back home without getting funny looks.  Okay I will stop being all sentiment and continue on about my trip. Once we got to Kyoto we went to the Manga Museum and had lunch. The Manga Museum was in a very old school of Kyoto and I wish I could take pictures but I wasn't allowed to because of the copyright infringement issues. Anyways the school was built by the community and even in the late 1800s women were sent to study at this school. Pretty amazing if you think about it since we have had so many women's rights issues in the States.  We also when to a traditional picture show in the Manga Museum and we were the only foreigners.  The guy gave us candy probably because he felt bad that he didn't know much English.

lunch

candy

Okay so Day 5 we went to the Golden Pavillion and a rock garden. Both places were beautiful and I just loved spending the day there and the tickets were really cool. So instead of talking about it I will show you pictures.

Golden Pavillion

Rock garden

So on day 6 we decided to explore Gion and go to a traditional tea ceremony that was going to be done in English. In Gion we did some shopping and we found a shrine so we went to look at it. During our walk an old Japanese man started clapping at us and pointing to one side of the sidewalk. So as we walked down the side he said we realized why. We saw ducklings and the mom. It was so cute! We had reservations for our tea ceremony and it was probably one of my favorite things in Japan. The tea ceremony talks about 4 main principles being harmony, respect, purity and tranquility. The girl also talked about what a host would have and what a guest would bring. A host has a silk cloth which would be used to purify everything that is used. A guest brings 3 things, a fan, paper and a tea ceremony knife. The fan is kept closed and place in front of the guest to greet the other guest with a bow and to create a boundary between the guest and host showing respect. The paper is used as a plate for sweets the host gives. The knife is used to cut certain sweets because they maybe too moist. The tea ceremony is done in two parts. The first part being where the host shows how the water is heated and after a break where guest eat sweets the tea part begins. The tea is in a powder form and is special for tea ceremony. The host begins by showing respect to all the tools by bowing to them. After the host will purify all the tools with their silk cloth. Only then will she measure out the tea and make one cup at a time. It was really cool to watch. I wish I could have taken pictures, but we weren't allowed to.  Here are some pictures of the ducklings and the shrine though.

Okay on the last day we were flying back to Korea at 7:50pm. So we still had to go from Kyoto back to Tokyo to the Narita airport, but we still had some time and went to another area that my grandmother might have grown up in (if I found the correct place on the map). None the less this shrine (Shinogama) was really pretty and is one of the oldest in Kyoto.  It has a forest next to it and some of the trees there are over 600 years old!!! This shrine was there even before the capital was moved to Kyoto in like 793.  Something like that. Anyways enjoy the pictures.

Well I think I will stop it here. To say the least this trip was really meaningful for me. I got to finally visit somewhere I always wanted and see what some of my family roots are. If anything I also realized something about myself. I am going to take pride in who I am.  I'm not going to let what others think hold me down. I watched the Japanese continue their traditions and everything without a second thought to what others might think. I want to take pride in who I am, and everything I am. Whether that be my Latino roots, Irish roots or Japanese roots! They are what makes me, me! Can't change it so might as well enjoy it! :) Well I have work tomorrow and as promised I did update! :) So I am off! Besos!!!